Obama faces double standard on terrorism because Dems won’t speak up

[DainBramaged]

Republicans' aggressive attacks against President Barack Obama for waiting three days to speak out on the foiled Christmas Day airliner bombing have many political observers declaring that the president faces a "double standard" on the issue.

And NBC's Mark Murray has a theory as to why that is: The Democratic Party simply isn't seizing on the issue, effectively allowing the Republicans to control the debate.

Earlier this week Karl Rove and other prominent Republicans took to the airwaves to criticize the president for not speaking out for 72 hours after the Christmas Day incident. But, as Amanda Terkel at ThinkProgress, Sam Stein at Huffington Post and Josh Gerstein at Politico all point out, when shoe-bomber Richard Reid attempted to blow up a plane over the Atlantic in December, 2001, it took President George W. Bush six days to respond. And, as Gerstein noted, "there were virtually no complaints from the press or any opposition Democrats that his response was sluggish or inadequate."

Indeed, looking back at 20th century -- the GOP charges after the Yalta conference, Nixon and the House Committee on Un-American Activities, the accusations that Democrats "lost" China, Joe McCarthy -- historians note that Republicans have been much more willing than their Democratic counterparts to play the national security card to score political points, especially when out of power.

http://rawstory.com/2009/12/obama-faces-double-standard-terrorism/

[tblue]

1. This party could drive me to drink. Come out punching, please for once!

We have AMPLE ammo to throw this right back in their ugly face.

[spanone]

2. i really wonder about the democrats as an organized party.they act like this is high school politics

the republicans are fighting for their political lives and they are ruthless. the truth means nothing to them.

[DainBramaged]

3. When Harry met Nancy, it was true love and a pact of silence

And when they are replaced, our party will be better off. it is also the fault of the DNC for NOT having a crisis center to attack the pukes at every opportunity. Christ, I haven't gotten a talking point worth repeating in months.

[spanone]

4. i know it's a holiday and all, but the pukes are out there and dammit i'm tired of it.

[msongs]

5. so, maybe Obama could speak up? himself, not via surrogates? hmmm nt

[spanone]

7. i don't think Obama should answer to cheney or any other congressperson

democrats should be out there countering these fucks

[blondeatlast]

6. One of the problems is they LITERALLY don't have a booking agency

like the tax-exempt, RW think tanks do, plus the m$m thinks presenting the RW is "balance."

This is one issue where the Dens drive me nuts--the RW has vetted experts at the ready (the same wads you see day in and day out) but the Dems don't get with the program.

[EFerrari]

10. Center for American Progress doesn't work hard enough.

Every weekend on BookTV there's at least two or three segments filmed at RW propaganda mills pushing fake books and Brian Lamb runs them over and over again. I rarely see anything from the Dem side.

[blondeatlast]

12. Exactly. It seems so damn simple to me. nt

[EFerrari]

13. I was hoping Howard Dean would start a think tank.

He'd be the perfect person to get it going although, I have no idea if he'd enjoy it.

I'd ghost write or translate for an organization like that or do anything that was needed.

[tsuki]

8. I don't know what is happening where you are, but I live smack dab

in the middle of GlenBeckistan. I went to a gathering yesterday, and someone tried to bring up the underwear bomber and Obama.

He was smacked down, not by me, the resident libr'ul, but by almost everyone else. They are tired of the terra, terra, terra, 24/7. Consensus was, arrest the fucker and throw him in jail.

Then the entire conversation devolved into underwear, yes or no on airlines. Would we have to wave it for TSA as we went through the lines, and who would wear what with CNN's own Jiggles in the Morning taking the worst hit and Glen Beck as a close second. It was some funny stuff.

M$M has really ruined its brand.

[Enrique]

9. this journalist doesn't like the GOP hypocrisy being exposed

If the dems had politicized Richard Reid as this guy seems to wish they had, then the shamefulness of the GOP wouldn't be as clear as it is now, it would have looked like "they all do it", which is a favorite method of defending the GOP.

[OHdem10]

11. Right on Point: